Dozens of Robbins rape kits with missing records sent for testing

The Robbins Police Department is sending dozens of sexual assault kits to state officials for testing after the department discovered it lost paperwork associated with the cases.

Over the last few months, the police department, with help from the Cook County Sheriff’s office, conducted an inventory of its evidence room, and started to organize sexual assault kits associated with inactive cases, said Robbins Police Cmdr. Christian Daigre.

Of the 150 sexual assault kits, officials found about 51 of them were missing some records, including victim statements, according to the department. Daigre suspects the paperwork may have been lost due to water damage in the building.

Police know who each kit belongs to, but says all 51 kits were part of investigations in which the victim either recanted testimony or no longer wanted to pursue the case, according to Daigre.

“It’s not like we had active rape kits…and then the victim was left with no way to follow up on the alleged crime,” Daigre said.

Though testing the kits is not required, the Robbins police department is sending the 51 kits with missing paperwork to the Illinois State Police forensics department for an analysis, according to Daigre.

“It’s merely a safety precaution. We technically have no need to do it,” said Daigre